Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2002 12:17:57 EST
From: AmateurishWriter@aol.com
Subject: M.A.R.C. Ch. 21
M.A.R.C.
Warning: The following story is a work of fiction. It is a fantasy. It
never happened, except in the author's imagination. This story may contain
sex between teenage boys, a man and a teenage boy or multiple male teens.
The author does not encourage or condone sex between adults and little
children. If you are underage, or this is illegal where you are, you
already know what you're supposed to do. Delete this file and find
something else. If this kind of story turns you off, delete this file and
find something else. If you're looking for a story that has someone having
sex in every other sentence, this one is not it.
The author retains the copyright for this story. Placing this story on a
commercial web site or in print without the authors permission is a
violation of that copyright.
Disclaimer: M.A.R.C. is in no way related to a certain movie character or
characters of a similar age and construction and/or recently released
sci-fi movie. Any and all similarities are purely coincidental.
Comments to AmateurishWriter@aol.com, pro and con and of a constructive
nature, will be gratefully received and acknowledged, if possible. Flamers
will be ignored.
* * * * * * Dear Readers * * * * * *
As those of you who are Marc's faithful readers may remember, M.A.R.C.
originally stood for: Multi-modal Adolescent Research Companion. As the
story evolved, M.A.R.C. became: Male Adolescent Recreational Companion. My
apologies girls, I never thought about a name for a female android.
Now, in an upcoming chapter of M.A.R.C., "the consortium" is going to
announce to the world that it has successfully designed and built the first
fully functional artificial life forms or androids, both male and female.
Therefore, I have to come up with another acronym, like M.A.R.C., to
describe them as a group or new species. A daunting task.
Then it occurred to me that it might be fun to ask you, as readers of
M.A.R.C., for your ideas. It should be a term that works for both male and
female, functionality (i.e., employee, friend, companion), construction
(i.e., artificial life form or android), etc.. In other words, 'human'
describes our species so what word (or acronym) would best describe a
humanoid artificial life form species? Before your ask, no, I don't think
I should use "Alf". It's been used and might infringe of someone's
copyrights! The acronym should not spell out M.A.R.C.. That acronym is
just for M.A.R.C.'s.
If I ... er, I mean Marc, chooses one or a combination of suggestions, we
will be happy to give credit in a future chapter, with your e-mailed
consent. Be as serious or as silly as you choose. If nothing else, have
fun with this.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Near the end of Chapter Twenty:
The rest of the flight seemed endless to me. In my concern for Marc I
turned a blind eye to the build up of my own stress. Soon we descended
into the private airfield and, as promised, the transportation was right
there. It was manned with a technician who helped Sharon with getting Marc
onto a stretcher. She was very gentle with him. But with me she was firm,
though diplomatic, as she insisted that I ride up in the front of the van.
Looking back, I now suspect that she saw how the stress was building in me
and wanted to spare me hearing what was probably a graphic discussion with
the technician.
It was only a few minutes to the edge of the airfield and then to the
entrance of the underground receiving area. As I climbed out of the front
seat, Sharon and the technician already had Marc's gurney racing through
the glass entryway. All I could see of him was his head covered with some
sort of ski cap and the many wires trailing from it.
I tried not to be alarmed at the sight and their haste but all reason
escaped me. After all, android boy or no, he was my boy now, the focus of
my love ... of my life. My knees failed me and everything faded as I
passed out, slipping to the garage floor.
Part Two - Life goes on
Chapter Twenty-one - Back to business
"Uh. Ugh." Something smelled strongly like ammonia and I gagged. I
jerked my head to the side and tried to sit up.
"Whoa! Relax John. You passed out." It was a calm voice and the face
that went with it slowly came into focus. It was one of the technicians.
"Marc. Where ... how's Marc?" I tried to move again.
"Hold on John." The young man restrained me. "Marc will be fine. We're
getting a wheel chair for you."
This time I pushed his hands away and sat up. "Wheel chair? Uh uh, I
don't think so. Thank you but I'll be just fine." I sat for a moment as
the fog cleared from my brain.
"Are you sure? It's no trouble."
I looked at the concern on his face and smiled. "Just help me up and give
me a moment more." With the van driver, the technician helped me to stand.
Then I leaned back against the van to steady myself.
"The color is coming back into your face."
I laughed weakly. "Yeah, it's the embarrassment."
A familiar voice came from the entrance to the receiving area. "Nah, you
have nothing to be embarrassed about. I know you, you're just worried
about Marc."
It was Eddie and he was pushing a wheel chair.
Twenty minutes later, after I politely refused to ride in the damn thing,
we were sitting in a very comfortable conference room and I was sipping
some hot chamomile tea and looking at a platter filled with bagels, rolls
and donuts. Hardly hospital fare. Another technician had promised to let
us know as soon as they had any news.
Eddie was sitting across from me and chuckling at me as I eyed the platter
of goodies. "Go on John. I'm sure breakfast wasn't on your agenda this
morning."
"No, it wasn't." I sighed as I grabbed a plain donut. "I did remember to
turn the coffee off though."
Eddie chuckled again. "Mind if I put on my business hat for a few
minutes?"
"Sure my friend. It will help to keep my mind off things."
"Good." Eddie nodded his approval. "We have learned so much in this short
week John. For instance; did you ever wonder how long Marc would live?"
I snapped my head up at hearing that and Eddie quickly put his hand on my
arm. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to have it sound ominous but rather,
amazing."
I gave him a quizzical look and he continued. "So long as we can replace
mechanical parts, his tissues will continue to regenerate and maintain his
youth and present appearance." He paused for affect. "That development
alone is going to force the world's dermatologists and plastic surgeons to
go back to school."
I actually had wondered about Marc's longevity and wasn't at all surprised.
"What's the time table on letting the public in on this whole android
thing?"
"Well, with all the legal ramifications, filing for patents, copyrights and
so forth, it's bound to leak soon. Remember how easy it was to find what
you found on the web?"
"Yes. I guess my main concern is Marc. I don't want him hurt anymore."
"No, no. When we do start to go public with this, Marc will not be
included as part of the publicity."
"I'm glad to hear that. You know first hand how protective I can be." I
smiled warmly at my long ago young friend and he smiled knowingly and
lovingly back. "There's more to research and think through where the
market for M.A.R.C.'s is concerned and, as I'm sure you are aware, that
particular market will be much more controversial."
Eddie nodded with a serious look on his handsome face. "You're absolutely
right, on all counts, and that brings me to our arrangement. The two
research reports that you e-mailed to me have been very helpful as were
your reports via Marc's tech mode. I was wondering if we could set up some
video conferencing dates with you for next week? We can provide a
technician and the equipment that you will need on your end."
"Sure, I don't see why not. Will the tech be staying?"
"No, that wont be necessary. He can fly home with you and Marc. Then the
plane can wait while he sets things up in your house. After he's done he
can fly right back here. He doesn't need much time and the equipment wont
take any room at all."
"That sounds easy enough." I was beginning to feel myself again and
grabbed a half bagel with cream cheese. "How many ... ah, I don't like
calling them 'units' and androids sounds so sci-fi, but anyhow, how many?"
Eddie laughed and, deep down inside I heard the boy that I knew from long
ago. "Yeah, I know what you mean. That will be part of our work next
week. We have to come up with something to call them. It has to be as
neat and clever as the acronym M.A.R.C.. Not counting Marc, there are just
three fully functional androids. Two male and one female."
"Does that mean that there are some that are not fully functional?"
Eddie grimaced and continued to look uncomfortable. "Yes, and we haven't
made a final decision as to what to do about them."
"I don't understand."
"Well, the options are; leave them be and let them continue to work here,
upgrade them to fully functional or terminate them. There are those of us
who are vehemently opposed to that last option. I'm sure you can
understand why."
It was my turn to cringe as I nodded gravely. "Of course. There surely
would be people who might call that murder. And, after this week, I'm not
at all sure that I wouldn't be one of the loudest. There are also those
who would find great fault with just leaving them be when they can be
upgraded. That would be like a doctor not treating the treatable ill.
And, most certainly, there will be others that think what the consortium
has already done is a serious sin."
"Exactly. So, we want the consortium to live up to the highest standards
of morals and ethics possible. As you say, this is a very delicate and
controversial thing that we are doing and we want to be above reproach.
So, they will likely be upgraded, which will be difficult and expensive but
laudable, I hope."
My mind was already thinking about the marketing. "What sort of jobs will
they be suited for?"
"Well, actually, we could conceivably build and program them for just about
anything, the sky's the limit. Besides the social and emotional roles,
like Marc's, the present thinking is to build them for jobs that humans
can't, or wont, do."
"Such as?"
"Long range space exploration is the biggest item on our list. They can be
adapted for minimal needs such as air, water and calorie requirements. You
would be amazed at how little we can adapt them to need. But, at the same
time, we will keep safety to the same standards as for humans."
"What about ..." I hesitated and thought for a second. "Eddie, you know
someone is going to very quickly talk about a super soldier and that sort
of thing. How are you going to handle that?"
He sighed. "Yeah. Well, we have thought of that too. On the physical
side, super strength is just a sci-fi fairy tale. Intellect, morals,
ethics, emotions, politics, and so on, is a whole different ball game.
Right now we have a fail-safe feature that will cause a unit to lock up.
It's kind of like what happened to Marc. To much stress, tension, anger,
negative emotion, etc. and the unit freezes like a computer. Then it has
to be serviced."
His mention of Marc made me look back over my shoulder at the door.
Eddie reached out and patted my arm again. "They'll let us know John.
Remember, he's going to out live us all and then some."
I sighed. "Thanks ... I think."
He chuckled again. "Yeah, it can be a bit unsettling knowing about his
longevity but at the same time, think of it as reassuring. He'll always be
there for you."
"I suppose."
"Back to the super soldier thing." Eddie continued to try and keep my mind
occupied. "We know that no matter what we do, some hacker is going to try
to override and get control. That's why it's such a major breakthrough
developing the technology that gives them self-awareness and
consciousness."
I laughed. "If you are a Star Trek fan you will remember a number of
situations regarding Data's 'emotion chip', as they called it. Then there
was the episode where some Star Fleet officer wanted to disassemble Data to
see what made him tick. They had to have a trial to decide if Data was a
sentient being so they could prevent it."
Eddie nodded and smiled. "They are, indeed, sentient beings John."
"Well, if Marc is any indication, you are absolutely right. The boy has a
conscience, a good sense of right and wrong, compassion, loyalty, empathy,
a healthy concern for others and I could go on and on. I can't tell you
how many times in this short week that I have forgotten just what he is and
thought of him as human."
I was looking at Eddie as I spoke and saw a cloud come across his face.
"What is it Eddie?"
He spoke softly. "Think about it John. How long before someone begins to
wonder, before someone begins to speculate, before someone says that our
androids are, indeed, a new species. That they are a new race. That they
have souls."
We sat in silence for a moment.
I took a deep breath. "Well, my friend, I can't say that the thought
hasn't crossed my mind on that one as well. How long before someone
accuses the consortium of playing God."
We chatted back and forth over these heavy issues and the time slipped by.
My chamomile tea was eventually replaced with a tall iced tea. The platter
of bagels, rolls and donuts was removed in favor of one filled with a
variety of sandwiches.
I was still very antsy and Eddie continued to reassure me. But no one came
or called with a progress report.
Finally, around 1:30 PM, there was a gentle knock on the conference room
door and, as I turned to look, it opened just a little bit and a small
blond headed boy peaked in. Startled, I rose to my feet too quickly and
the chair tipped over with a loud thud. I half turned to retrieve it and
stopped, turning back as Marc walked timidly into the room with his head
down studying the floor.
"Marc?" My voice squeaked and I cleared my throat. "Marc? Are you okay?"
He stopped at arms length from me. "I ... I'm sorry Uncle John." His face
was all scrunched up like he was close to tears.
"Sorry?" I crouched down on one knee in front of him and took his hand in
mine. "What on Earth for?"
There was a hitch in his breath as he was almost crying now. "For being so
much trouble."
I gathered him into my arms and pulled his small body to mine. "Oh Marc my
boy. You're no trouble. No trouble at all. I love you. Are you all
right?"
He spoke barely above a whisper. "Yes, I'm fine."
I whispered in his ear. "You're sure?" Then I gave his ear a little kiss.
He kind of scrunched up his neck like it tickled and nodded with the little
beginnings of a shy smile. "Yes, I'm sure."
"Well, good!" I declared quite loudly and gave him a healthy but harmless
swat on his sweet little butt. "That's for scaring the shit out of me!"
Then I giggled.
His eyes went wide and his cute full red lips formed an "o". Then he heard
me giggle even louder and he threw his arms around me and damn near
squeezed the life out of me. "I love you so much Uncle John but just you
wait 'till I get you home."
"HA!" I held him out at arms length again. "Yup! He's okay. That's my
boy!"
I looked over my shoulder at Eddie and he had the broadest laughing kind of
smile on his face. He'd had his fair share of those little swats on the
butt many years before when he was Marc's age.
Then it occurred to me, I remembered that on that first day Marc had been
on the plane and had been there when Eddie met us but I didn't know if they
had left that memory. "Have you two met?"
Eddie spoke up. "Just briefly. How are you feeling Marc? Everything back
as it should be?"
Marc straightened up from my arms as I rose to my feet. "Yes, thank you
sir. Sharon was very helpful. I really like her."
"Why thank you young man." Sharon had quietly come into the room behind
us. "It was exactly what we thought and we just adjusted the thresholds to
slightly higher tolerances. Purely a routine procedure."
It sounded so odd to me but I tried to think of it as a discussion with a
pediatrician.
Marc interrupted my thought. "Can I have one of these sandwiches Uncle
John?"
I looked from Marc, to Eddie and then to Sharon. "Yup. He's back to
normal!" We all cracked up laughing. All but Marc.
He scowled at us, not at all appreciating the laughter. "Can I? Please?
I'm dying here!" He pleaded and the volume of our laughter went up a
notch.
"Sure." Eddie composed himself first. "Dig in young fella'."
While Eddie helped Marc find a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I motioned
Sharon to have a seat and sat down with her. "Well, did he remember you?"
She looked warmly pleased, almost motherly. "Yes, he did. I think he's
kind of shy about it though."
"Why is that do you suppose?"
She blushed a little and it was charming. "Well, he was naked when we
first brought him up to full consciousness. Quite frankly, we were all new
at this and it never occurred to us that he might be embarrassed."
"Well, it appears that we're all learning here." I chuckled. "He's 13 and
very adolescent. I'd have been mortified to be seen naked by a pretty
young lady when I was his age."
She blushed again with a good natured chuckle as well. "Thank you John,
you are very kind. When Marc came up this time, the first thing he said
was 'thank goodness I'm dressed'." We both laughed at that.
"But, you said that he did remember you?"
"Oh. Yes, and he gave me a big hug." She looked very pleased again.
"Children are very special aren't they Sharon?"
"Yes, indeed they are."
In an uncharacteristically bold move on my part I asked Sharon, "How do you
feel about Marc's ... ah, how can I delicately put this? ... His purpose?"
The poor girl looked stricken by my openness. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't
have asked. Actually, I'm amazed that I did."
"No, no." She held up her hand as if to fend off my apology. "That's a
fair question and I'm actually glad you asked it as we've discussed it
here. I can't say that I understand the concept of boylove with a sexual
component or approve. So, I think that a M.A.R.C. is an excellent
solution, both for you and for society."
I sat there a moment, scratching my chin, before speaking again. "Eddie
and I have been discussing the future of androids in society. Marc is just
13 so, if androids were determined to be covered by society's existing
laws, the sexual aspect could be a problem."
"Hmmmm ... ". The beginnings of a smile crossed her face. "I suspect that
you haven't read much of the material in the briefcase that we gave to you
when you took Marc home."
I laughed. "Nope. Guilty."
"Well, I suggest that you do. Particularly the section on intellect,
maturity and ..."
"My, my." Eddie interrupted. "You two seem to be getting on famously."
We both had been so wrapped up in our conversation that we'd missed Marc's
having decimated the sandwich platter of peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches.
"I'm gonna make this young lady blush Eddie but, if the way she has taken
care of Marc is any indication, she is dedicated and devoted to her work
and very good at it."
Eddie winked at Sharon. "I bet she didn't tell you but she just got a
promotion. She is going to be Vice Director in charge of our children's
division."
"No, she sure didn't." I looked back at an embarrassed new young
executive. "Congratulations Sharon. I expect it is well earned."
"Wow! That's cool Sharon!" Marc, not to be left out, squeezed past me and
gave Sharon a big hug. The pleased look on her pretty face was priceless.
"Ah ... well ... ". She stammered trying to change the subject. "Thank
you Marc ... and you too John. Now, we still have some things to do so you
two can get back home."
Marc and I both chimed in at the same time. "You mean we might get home
today?"
"No problem." Eddie assured us. "All Sharon needs to do is round up the
technician and the equipment for the conferences this week and you're off."
"What conferences?" Marc's curiosity was back to normal.
Next: Chapter Twenty-two - Home again